First Shoulder.......Question

[langmotorsports]

I am smoking a couple shoulders for a family Fathers Day get together and was wondering if it would be ok to smoke them on saturday and then foil them and refridgerate them until sunday and either put them in the oven or back in the smoker on sunday prior to eating? Any other suggestions of ANY kind would be appreciated. Im a Newbie here and absolutley love the site!!!!! Is there a category where i can go to learn all the lingo and abbreviations used in the forum? If not who can i suggest this too? Have a great weekend

 

[Dutch]

Lang, Welcome to the SMF. How are you going to serve the shoulder? Are you going to slice it or pull/shred it? If your going to pull/shred it, do so before putting it into the fridge as it is easier to pull while hot. Cooling it down and placing it in the fridge and reheating it later is perfectly all right. Just remember to reheat the meat to 140* internal.
We have have one member that has just finished smoking and pulling 140 pounds of pork butt that he will be serving this Sunday at a Family Reunion in Idaho. He has the meat pulled and vacuumed packed so all he has to do is reheat the meat in boiling water.

When you get the chance, drop in at "Roll Call" and introduce yourself.

 

[langmotorsports]

Hey Earl thaks for the reply, i did stop by roll call and introduced myself. I know its the first thing i should of done but hey i dont like directions HA HA Any way regarding my shoulder, i am going to pull it, they weigh about 9 pounds each and am doing 2 of them. My calculations tell me about 13.5 hours in the smiker at 1.5 hrs a pound. Thats the problem, i dont want to get up at 2 am to start smoking so they have time to finish and also give me time to foil them. Any suggestions? Do i need to foil them for a coule hours? Just trying to formulate a plan that will allow me a little flexibility. Thanks again !!!! This site is the best!!!!! Keep the suggestions coming!!!!

 

[Dutch]

lang, Foiling the shoulders will speed up the process. Since I don't foil my shoulders, I couldn't begin to tell you how much sooner they'll get done.

Here is part of a discussion about the time/weight formula. This was concerning a beef brisket but it applies to pork butts and shoulders too.

The formula of X lbs at 1.5 hours works out great IF you don't have the temp. plateau that is often found in large muscle mass cuts like briskets and pork shoulders (butts and picnics) to contend with. Smokers experience this plateau at around 150-160* and it seems that the temp sits there forever (3-5 hours or longer). That is why it is often suggested that you have a good probe thermometer (Digital is great). The plateau works to your advantage-it's during this time that the connective tissue is breaking down and releasing it's moisture into the surrounding meat. Unfortunately, there is no getting around this plateau-increasing the chamber temps doesn't speed up the break-down- all it does is dry out the meat.

 

[jaynik]

lang,
I was recently faced with a similar dilemma and I solved it by smoking the shoulder on Friday, then warming it in the crock pot on Saturday starting as soon as I got up. It was wonderful and everyone loved it! I hope your smoke goes well!
Jay

 

[funk]

lang, how did the shoulders turn out? I am doing two 6.5# for the first time and I am trying to figure out the calculation for cooking. Funk